David Wyatt and David Vill – Movies and the Masses

Monday, February 8, 2010 at 5:27 pm

If you’re a fan of the New York Jets or the NFL in general, you need to get your butt on over the Gang Green Nation as soon as possible. That’s because they offer all kinds of football news and insight, including recent articles dedicated to Super Bowl memories, NFL draft evaluations, and links to news stories involving current or former Jets. They’ve got a talented staff of writers dedicated to their cause, and that brings me to my next point.

This week’s installment of Movies and the Masses features a double shot of David. I’m talking about David Wyatt and David Vill, two of the rather excellent bloggers for the Gang Green Nation. Let’s find out a little about each, and then we’ll get right into the more cinematic questions.

David WyattDavid Wyatt is a US sports fan who lives across the pond in the United Kingdom. A history graduate, he’s also a self-described “sports fanatic.” Favorite teams include the Jets, New York Knicks, Chicago Cubs, New York Rangers, the Syracuse Orange, and the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. When it comes to the pugilistic arts, he favors Floyd Mayweather, Forrest Griffin, Clay Guida and Dan Hardy. To learn more about David Wyatt, be sure to follow him on Twitter.

David Vill is not only a Jets blogger, but he pays the bills by working as a video editor. From weddings and demo reels to corporate events, David works in New York City and can cut anything that’s put in front of him. A resident of New Jersey, he follows the Jets, Nets, Mets, New Jersey Devils and Hawaii Warriors. As for boxers, Manny Pacquiao is listed as his favorite.

Now that we’ve grown a bit closer to our two Davids, let’s see what they have to say about the art of film. Take it away, guys….

Jets Helmet

Only Good Movies: What’s the first movie you remember seeing?
David Wyatt: Although I’m sure it’s not the first movie I ever saw, I have to say that it must be The Karate Kid. That’s the first movie I ever remember actually wanting to watch, and watch again. I actually found out recently that Ralph Macchio is a big Jets fan, so always nice to have your main interest and your first memory of film to have some connecting link. I must’ve wore that VHS out and drove my parents up the wall with it. Never really took to the 2nd in the series, although did enjoy the 3rd one. The fact that Hollywood is remaking it at the minute is absolutely terrible in my opinion.
David Vill: I can’t remember. My earliest recollection is watching Tarzan on TV when I was really young. I was sitting on the stairs next to my dad, and he was talking to me about how those tiny people could fit in that little box. I don’t remember if it was a movie or a series, but a vivid scene is one where somebody falls down a pit and Tarzan gets an elephant to take down a tree for the person to climb on.

OGM: If you only had a few hours to live and could do nothing but watch five movies, which films would you select?
DW: I would probably go with a nice mix of genres. Would start with the deeper films, like A Beautiful Mind and The Godfather, then go onto some lighter films like The Hangover, which I think is just hilarious. Probably Bad Boys would make an appearance at one point, and I would top it off with Donnie Darko to keep the mind occupied as you are nearing your end.
DV: If I only had a few hours to watch movies, I would pick The Big Lebowski. I’ve seen it numerous times, and I’ve practically memorized all the lines. I still see little things that I didn’t notice from a previous viewing. I never seem to get bored of it.

I would also pick Taxi Driver. Martin Scorsese’s use of slow motion always draws me into the scenes. The cinematography and the musical score are hypnotizing.

I can probably watch Badlands over and over. The cinematography is simply beautiful. The dialogue is odd and memorable, as well as the musical score. I love the scene where Holly and Kit dance in the dark to Nat King Cole’s “A Blossom Fell.”

Then there’s The Prestige by Christopher Nolan. I like the performances by Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and Michael Caine, as well as the accents.

For the fifth one, I’m inclined to pick something by Quentin Tarantino, but I don’t think I’d want too much violence with only a few hours to live. Realistically though, I would probably be watching home movies instead. So I’ll go with the more life affirming To Live by Zhang Yimou.

OGM: What’s your favorite movie?
DW: My favourite movie changes on a weekly basis, but I would say that A Beautiful Mind makes the most appearances when thinking about a favourite film. Just think that it is a great performance by Russell Crow, and Cold War America is an area that particularly interests me. I actually wrote my dissertation around that area. Suspenseful, good script, good acting and a good soundtrack. Can’t ask for much more, really. Donnie Darko comes pretty close, but S.Darko has taken away from the original.
DV: There’s too many to choose from, so I’ll just pick one at random. It’s a Filipino movie about a child called Magnifico.

OGM: What’s your least favorite movie?
DW: It would be easy to come up with a lot of poor quality films, like Nightmare on Elm Street 5, or something like that, but I think I’m going to go with Lord Of The Rings. It won’t be a popular choice, but I have never really been interested in anything fantasy based. They are very long, they have outlandish stories, and it’s just not something that appeals to me. I would rather see something a little more real than something based in Middle Earth or something like that.
DV: There’s too many to choose from, so I’ll just pick one at random. The Girl Next Door, directed by Gregory Wilson.

OGM: Do you subscribe to an online rental service like Netflix or Blockbuster Online? Why or why not?
DW: I don’t. I don’t really see the point of it. Information is everywhere, and if I want to see a film I will either go to the cinema to watch it, or wait for it to hit the stores and buy it.
DV: I subscribe to Netflix because they have a wide variety of DVDs available. I couldn’t always find the movie I wanted from video stores. Although you obviously have to wait until the DVD arrives, you eventually get used to it. And sometimes popular DVDs are often out at rental stores anyway. It’s convenient that I can keep the movie as long as I want. Also, Netflix.com allows me to keep track of films I’ve watched and to rate them, as well.

OGM: In 50 years, which modern movies do you think will be viewed as classics?
DW: As much as I don’t personally like it, Lord of The Rings will probably be viewed in this way. Titanic will likely be considered, as will Pulp Fiction and Saving Private Ryan. The style of Avatar and the animation of Toy Story will also probably be viewed as classic movies in half a century.
DV: In fifty years, No Country for Old Men will be a classic. It already feels like a classic.

OGM: If you see a movie based on a book, are you then more or less likely to read the book?
DW: I usually like to compare the two, similar to what I did with The Shining and The Da Vinci Code. I saw The Shining first and then read the book, and I read The Da Vinci Code first and then saw the movie. They’re often so different in style, mood, just reaching similar conclusions. So I think I’m probably more likely to read a book after seeing the movie, just to get a sense of what was different, what the producer/director thought they had to change to bring it from the page to the screen.
DV: Usually, I wouldn’t read a book just because a movie was based on it. No Country for Old Men, however, compelled me enough that I had to read it just to get insight on what directors Joel and Ethan Coen went from. The film was amazingly true to the book.

Shonn Greene

OGM: Who’s your favorite celebrity?
DW: I’m not sure if this is just in the film industry or as a whole, so will mix the two. Denzel Washington is probably my favorite celebrity. I like the roles he takes, he is a Jets fan, and does his humanitarian duty as a person in a privileged situation. His interviews are usually entertaining, but, at the same time, he is very much about the project instead of some celebrities who are all about the personal publicity and advancing the name rather than the project.
DV: I don’t have any favorite celebrities, but as for performers, I admire Christian Bale, Johnny Depp, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep.

OGM: Is there any actor or actress whose movies you actively avoid?
DW: Nicholas Cage, and I really don’t know why. I just don’t like his style, I don’t like his voice, and he is just someone who I will actively try and avoid. Not saying that I won’t under any circumstances watch a Nicholas Cage film, but if I had the choice, I would choose to avoid.
DV: I actively avoid Tom Cruise movies.

OGM: How do you feel about all the remakes of older and classic films?
DW: There are so many unique ideas that can be created, I just find it ridiculous that Hollywood has to search the archives to come up with a project that they can move forward. Again, I come back to the Karate Kid remake. They are taking an 80’s film that was very much in the mold of the times, and they are trying to adapt it to a 21st century crowd. When I can, I avoid the remakes, because it’s very rare that you get a remake that is as good or better than the original.
DV: There is no need to remake a classic.

OGM: Which actor or actress do you find most attractive?
DW: Hands down it has to be Jennifer Aniston, but I find that I find characters more attractive than the actual actresses. So say her character in The Break Up is more attractive to me than many of her other roles. Jennifer Connelly in A Beautiful Mind is another. If we were going just based on the actress alone, it definitely would be Jennifer Aniston.
DV: Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman and Ellen Page are not bad looking, I think.

OGM: Do you read movie reviews? If so, which critics do you read most often, and why do you like them?
DW: I tend not to read reviews, and I definitely don’t read reviews before I see a film. I don’t want other people’s preferences rubbing off on my own opinions of a film. I often find that some reviewers are far too critical of aspects that the average movie-goer just wouldn’t really care about. They mark a film down for lighting in a particular scene, and I just don’t think that’s important to a lot of people. It’s all opinion in the end, and while I’m open to listening to other people’s opinion, I won’t let it influence my own.
DV: I only read movie reviews if I suspect the film is terrible. If I think I’ll enjoy a movie, I like to know as little as possible about it. I tell my friends not to talk about a movie that they want me to watch. When I first started watching classics, I picked movies because the names were familiar, not knowing anything else about them. I found it very enjoyable to go with a clean slate. As far as critics, I used to like reading Roger Ebert, but lately he seems to like everything. Variety’s reviews always have great insight, it seems no matter who the writer is.

OGM: What type of people annoy you when going to a movie theater?
DW: I’ve never really been too annoyed when I have been at the cinema. I guess if you want to pinpoint some problems, people who constantly get up and leave the theatre are very frustrating because they take your attention away from the screen.
DV: When I go to a movie theater, anyone who I notice can annoy me. Usually when the movie is popular, there’s all sorts of people who are loud or text in the dark. When the movie is more artsy, I hate waiting for the film to start because there’s always pretentious people who like to be overheard about how smart they are.

OGM: Do you consider movies to be works of art?
DW: Absolutely, and like most art forms you have to trek through a lot of rough to find the fairway. Most films are based on someone’s view, and each person’s view is unique. I consider that an art form.
DV: I consider movies to be works of art. Unfortunately, however, there are way too many moviemakers who don’t realize this.

OGM: What type of candy or drink do you consider essential to your movie watching experience?
DW: I usually don’t eat or drink while watching a film, but salted popcorn and water would probably be my choice.
DV: There is no essential food or drink for the movie experience. A good film should take your mind off of everything else but what is on the screen. A good movie will satisfy all your cravings.

 

This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 5:27 pm and is filed under Movies and the Masses. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *